Our conferences provide the opportunity to hear the latest research in energy economics and dialogue that takes place between industry, government and academia. IAEE meets globally between three to five times per year. Don’t miss your opportunity to present your research.

Membership in IAEE is open to anyone worldwide who has an interest in the fields of energy or energy economics. Our membership consists of those working in both the public and private sectors including government, academic and commercial.

IAEE publishes three publications throughout the year. These are The Energy Journal, Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy and the Energy Forum. Members of the association receive these publications as part of their membership.

Abstract: Our paper analyzes the sources of labor productivity variation in U.S. bituminous coal surface mining from 1960 to 1976. The coal mining industry was among the first to experience a prolonged decline in labor productivity in the post-World War II period. In surface mining nationally, labor productivity in 1977 was 26.6 tons per worker-day, or 28 percent less than the peak of 36.7 tons per worker-day achieved in 1973. Moreover, in several major coal-producing states, the decline began much earlier and was more dramatic. For example, in West Virginia (the first state to experience declining productivity) the loss in productivity between 1965, the year in which productivity in the state peaked, and 1976 was nearly 52 percent. Eastern Kentucky experienced an even larger drop of 56 percent between 1967 and 1976. It was only the expansion of surface mining to western states in the 1970s that delayed the appearance of a national decline in productivity until the early 1970s. The industry has thus foreshadowed the labor productivity declines that subsequently occurred in other industries.